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B.C. conservation officers say they have called off their search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The news comes after forensic analysis determined four grizzlies captured this week, an adult female and three young, were not linked to the attack, which left three children and one teacher badly injured while out on a school field trip.
In total, eight bears were captured and tested as officers searched for the one responsible. All of them are being relocated away from the community.
But, the service says in a social media update, with no new bear sightings and with grizzlies moving into denning season, they are “no longer actively trying to capture bears, and equipment has been removed.”
Jason Moody is father of one of the children involved in the attack by a grizzly bear on Nuxalk students and teachers near Bella Coola, B.C. He says people from his community have been living alongside bears for thousands of years, and this recent event shows the need to be in balance with nature.
The attack was deemed highly unusual by both conservation officers and members of the Nuxalk Nation, who say they have long co-existed with grizzlies and that the school group was well-acquainted with bear safety.
For more than two weeks now, officials scoured the region trying to find the bear responsible for the attack, setting traps and going on patrols.
In total, the conservation officer service says, 24 officers were sent out in rotating teams, including some who drove hundreds of kilometres to hand-deliver samples collected from captured bears to a forensics lab at the University of Alberta.
On Thursday night, the Nuxalk Nation led an information session on the attack and search for the offending bear, which they say was attended by more than 100 people.
The details of that meeting, however, are being kept private to the community, the Nation says, out of respect for those impacted.
The captured bears that are being relocated will be equipped with GPS collars for monitoring purposes.
